Robert Cardenas

Robert Leon Cardenas (March 10, 1920 – March 10, 2022) was a brigadier general in the United States Air Force.

Early life He was born in Mérida, Yucatán, Mexico. When he was five, his family moved to San Diego. He excelled in mathematics and physics in high school. When Cardenas was a teenager, building models and learning about gliders at Torrey Pines Gliderport first sparked his interest in airplanes. Due to his excellent grades, San Diego State University invited him to enroll.

In 1942, Lt. Cardenas was sent to Twentynine Palms, California, to help establish the Army Air Corps Glider School. He was assigned to Wright Field, Ohio, and became a flight test officer. Cardenas rose quickly in position, was promoted to operations officer and finally director of the Flight Test Unit, Experimental Engineering Laboratory at Wright Field. The bomber then exploded at a low altitude and shore off the tops of several trees.

Capt. Cardenas landed on the German side of Lake Constance. He swam across the lake to the Swiss side in order to evade capture. He was first interned at a camp for American officers at Adelboden, and was later assigned to teach Swiss officers how to fly interned American bombers at Dübendorf Airfield near Zurich. On September 27, 1944, Cardenas escaped into France with the help of Swiss civilians and the French resistance. He was flown to Britain and then sent back to the United States to recover from his head injury.

In November 1944, he attended Central Instructors School for the B-24 at Smyrna Army Airfield, Tennessee. After graduation, he became a test pilot and was then assigned to Wright Field, Ohio. While at Wright Field, he attended Experimental Flight Test School and later became assistant chief of Bomber Section, and chief of Bomber Operations Section, Flight Test Division.

During the Korean War, he was assigned to Wright Field and Edwards Air Force Base testing new fighters and bombers. Additionally, he was assigned to Okinawa and then to The Pentagon. He was buried with full military honors at Miramar National Cemetery.

Military awards and decorations United States (in order of precedence):

Spain: Cross of Aeronautical Merit

Civilian honors In 1993, the University of New Mexico's Department of Engineering honored him for his professional contribution and leadership.

In 1995, he was inducted into the Aerospace Walk of Fame in Lancaster, California, and the Sigma Chi fraternity awarded him the "Significant Sig" medal.

In 2004, he was honored as a Distinguished Alumnus of the U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School at Edwards AFB.

In 2008, Cardenas was inducted into the International Air & Space Hall of Fame at the San Diego Air & Space Museum.

In 2012, Cardenas was honored at the Air Command and Staff College's Gathering of Eagles at Maxwell Air Base, Montgomery, Alabama. This program encourages the study of airpower history by emphasizing the contributions of air and space pioneers.

In 2014, the National Aviation Hall of Fame announced that Cardenas will be inducted into the "Class of 2015" along with aviation pioneers Robert N. Hartzell, Gene Kranz, and Abe Silverstein.